Hot Tickets: London's going out guide

Defending John Scopes: Kevin Spacey as celebrated liberal lawyer Henry Drummond

PREVIEW
Inherit The Wind
Old Vic, SE1
Jerome Lawrence and Robert E Lee's courtroom classic about a teacher prosecuted for teaching evolutionary theory is given its first major production in London — fittingly, in the year of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, which also marks the 150th of the publication of On the Origin of Species.

Inherit the Wind, first performed on Broadway in 1955 and later made into an Oscar-winning film with Spencer Tracy and Gene Kelly, was inspired by the 1925 Scopes “monkey trial” in which science teacher John Scopes was accused of violating a Tennessee state statute by teaching Darwin's theory to his students. Considered one of the great American plays of the 20th century, it's highly relevant today, as the debate about what freedom under the American Constitution means still rumbles on and creationism continues to be taught in some British state schools.

The sparring attorneys, Henry Drummond, a celebrated liberal lawyer, and Matthew Harrison Brady, a fundamentalist politician, are played by Kevin Spacey and David Troughton respectively, while Trevor Nunn directs the cast of more than 40.
18 September-20 December. Information: 0844 871 7628, www.oldvictheatre.com
VERONICA LEE

SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND
Kings Place Festival
Today until Sunday, 9am-midnight, Kings Place, N1 (020 7520 1440, www.kingsplace.co.uk). £4.50 each concert.
To celebrate its first anniversary, the King's Cross venue is repeating its trick of staging 100 concerts in a weekend, taking in classical, jazz, folk and the spoken word. Each day opens with a foyer performance of John Cage's Music for Amplified Toy Pianos, before the series of 45-minute, on-the-hour events gets under way. Star turns: jazz maverick Seb Rochford, the Endymion Ensemble, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the London Sinfonietta.

LONDON FOR FREE
PORTOBELLO FILM FESTIVAL
Until 20 September, various venues (www.portobellofilmfestival.com). Free
The 14th festival of short films opened last night but gets going this weekend. The programme offers a wide range of short films, divided into themed nights. Tonight, from 6pm at Westbourne Park Studios, is horror night, while future highlights include family film shows (Sat and Sun 10am, The Tabernacle), and, next week, evenings of contemporary London film-making and others devoted to young film-makers.

BOOK NOW
Into the Hoods
16 December-10 January 2010, Southbank Centre, SE1 (0871 663 2500, www.southbankcentre.co.uk). £15-£27.50
Leading street-dance choreographer Kate Prince and her dance company ZooNation return with their whimsical spin on Stephen Sondheim's classic Into the Woods. A runaway success during its West End stint last year, and at the Edinburgh Fringe, the street-dance musical tells the tale of two kids on the ominous Ruff Endz Estate, performed to the rhythms of Stevie Wonder, The Chemical Brothers and Kanye West, among others.

MEET ME AT
The Toucan Guinness Bar
19 Carlisle Street, W1 (020 7437 4123). Open Mon-Fri 11.30am-11pm; Sat 12.30-11pm.
Over the years, the Toucan has mellowed: while once it was edgy, it now concentrates on being the best Irish bar outside Ireland. It could have turned out a caricature but it ends up offering a good pint and a delightful laid-back vibe. Crowds downstairs can make it a bit like the black hole of Calcutta but the Toucan has undeniable charm. There's a second branch on Wimpole Street.
Charles Campion

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